Silent Voices
by Lighter
Summary: Rocky has a secret admirror, but she seems to be a bit to obsessive. Could she be stalking him? Or is she after more?
1. Chapter 1

Silent Voices

Chapter 1.

The school is having a big sports banquette for all the players on the teams and the Douglas family couldn't be more proud of their sons, Samuel and Jeffery- well, Rocky and Colt to their mom...their father still needed time on them. 

He always says, "_All you need to know about life you can lean through sports._" but Colt would always retort back with some sort of sarcastic remark like- "_Yeah dad, I can see me now walking up to a girl I like and whacking her with a baseball bat, saying you're a home run how's about a date?_" 

Always being himself, never a dull moment for him. Colt was on the Baseball team the Dragons while Rocky tried out for something a little different- Soccer.

Since Rocky always fought with his legs he figured he might as well keep them in shape and Soccer was the best sport for that, much like Colt's thoughts about Baseball good for his arms his most used weapon when they fought.

Tum tum was on a team as well, but that was in the middle school and they weren't having their sports banquette until next Thursday. He played Basket Ball which worked out everything which in his combat exactly what he used.

"Good evening parents," a coach the boys didn't know was up at a podium saying, "and students. We're going to give out the awards for our players and VIPs for the best of the best- not that they aren't all fine players, but these specific people show they have everything it takes to be in this position, and we should give them all recognition." Everyone sitting at the tables clapped proudly for the son or daughter they knew- or hoped- were being talked about.

"We're gonna start with a very valuable sport to us, the swim team." The crowd resumed with their clapping as the coach called out some names and gave speeches. Rocky looked around the cafeteria at the faces of players on other teams and then at his parents, they were so proud of him and Colt and Tum tum- even people they didn't know!

It made him smile to see that kind of feeling being shown for them and it made all their problems before seem like a distant joke. There was a flash in his face and he snapped out of it seeing his mom put her camera down out of her eyes and he smiled when she did, but that flash hadn't come from her direction...'_Then where_?' He wondered, not seeing the girl drop the camera from her face and look at him adoringly.

"And our MVP for the Baseball team goes to someone I'm sure we're all familiar with in more ways than one." The coach said as a joke and enough people laughed because they had a good idea whom that person was. "For the best pitching, for the most home runs, for the most-..." he was cut off by a familiar voice shouting, "Just give me my award already!" some of the people laughed and their fathers voice called out in a scolding tone. "_Jeffrey_."

"Hey, the man said it best. It's our very own, _Jeffery Douglas_!" The coach said in honor and pride. Colt, as always was making the best of his moment and came strolling up to the podium wiping fake tears and bowing with a huge smile. "Where would I be with out....._me_?" Everyone laughed and he walked down kissing a girl who was definitely his girlfriend......_now_.

When the other teams went on to get their awards Rocky turned to his brother with a slight frown. "Colt I really wish you wouldn't be so....._wild_, sometimes it's really _unnecessary_." He turned back in his seat to face forwards and he received a pat on his shoulder, "I understand Rock', but it's okay, cause I'm not blaming you or anything." 

"What?" Asked Rocky wondering what Colt was about to go on now. "It's like the song goes, jealousy's a moth-..." he was cut off from Tum who was becoming _bored_, because they had served them food long before any of this speech stuff started and he was restless with out a snack. 

It was pushing eight o' clock they had been there since six! "_Moooom_. I'm _bored_ and _tired_. I wanna go home." She silenced him as though he were younger than he actually were. "Hush baby, we're almost out of here. We just need to wait for Rocky's coach to call out the names, okay?" He slouched in his chair crossing his arms in frustration but waited it out like his mother had asked.

"And now for the MVP on the soccer field...Brandon Micah!" The coach said smiling as a boy walked up to the stage to receive his trophy and Rocky's mouth barely twitched in surprise, as opposed to the rest of his family who of which were in total shock.

"I can't believe that guy didn't call your name Rock'." Colt said in utter shock. "Well believe it, he was better than me in some parts so he deserves it more." He smiled quaintly with no pain behind it that his family could see. "Alright Brando! Woo!" Rocky shouted clapping. Colt just shook his head while his family sighed deeply.

* * *

Rocky found himself sitting outside on the porch swing in the backyard, tossing a baseball in the air and catching it mindlessly. '_Why did I have to get sick all those days?_' He sighed in his chest and looked into the sky. '_I'm a good player. If only I'd of been around more....._'

"Swallow it down, Rock'. Jagged little pill it is though." He said with a slight laugh remembering the Alannis Moresette song. After another sigh he heard a knock on the fence door and a smile spread across his face expecting the usual visitor. "Hello, Emily." He said being caught off guard as a strange girl walked into the yard; She had short shoulder length brown hair, pretty little brown eyes, and a petite size.

She greeted him with a slight wave and walked over to where he was sitting and sat down beside him with a little hesitation as if asking silently. He nodded, curious as to what the stranger might have to say.

"Hi." She said following it with a smile. Rocky looked at her cocking his head. "_Feels like my brain is buzzing_, _Why does she make me feel like this? Who is this girl_?" He wondered, feeling a fuzzy vibration in the back of his head as she talked to him. "My name is, Maria Atkinson." She held out her hand, "and it's really nice to finally meet you- in person I mean."

He shook her hand and smiled in return. "My name is Sam Douglas, and forgive my question but, have we met before?" She shook her head to the question and he just nodded turning back to his ball as he fiddled with it in his hand. "I think it was un-fair that you didn't win. The award was yours, I know.....I take all the pictures for the paper and the year book. Have you seen them?" Rocky nodded catching the ball then looking back at her again with the same curiosity on his face.

"......I wanna......I wanted to ask you if maybe you'd...sometime like to goooo-..." She stammered through but couldn't finish because a girl cleared her throat behind her head. When she turned around to see where the sound had come from a blonde girl was standing behind her and Rocky greeted her with a smile and kiss on the cheek. 

"This is Emily." He said and she nodded with Emily adding, "His _girlfriend_."

"Nice to meet you," Maria said shaking her hand and standing to leave. "Wait. What were you gonna ask me, Maria?" Rocky asked her. "U-u-uh, _nothing_. Nice talking to you Rocky. Emily." 

Her eyes were shaded as she walked out of the peaceful backyard. "What a weird girl." Emily noted out loud putting her arms around Rocky's neck giving him a better kiss. "Nah, I think she's sweet. She's one of the papers photographers _and_ she's on year book." He almost sounded as if he had so much more pride in her from that then he'd ever have in Emily for anything she'd ever done.

"Don't make that face, Em'. I have no interest in her." The blonde boy said to her. "I hate it when you do that mind reading stuff it's creepy I told you that." Emily said pinching his nose between her knuckles. Rocky's laugh came out funny and he pulled away snatching her hands out of the air constraining them. 

"I'm not reading your mind, you're just acting sooooo predictable." He teased and she pushed him in the shoulder and proceeded to chase him around when he ran from her.

On the other side of the fence Maria stood listening to them, with a frown on her lips. _"Someday, really soon...he'll be with me." _She thought casually and walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

"Who was that girl you were talking to?" Emily was asking Rocky while they walked into the famous Sun Set park. He shrugged an answer to her and shook his head looking for the words. "I'd never seen her before up until then, so I really couldn't tell you." 'What I'd like to know is how she knew my ninja name when I didn't even tell it to her?' He thought casually tossing the soccer ball he had in his hands into the air and catches it.

"Well I think you should stay away from her, she seems....._strange_." She took the ball from him and held it out of his reach off to the side of her. "Come on Em', you know I need to practice with that." The blonde boy said trying to get the ball back from her but she moved away from all his advances and laughed. "You're no good at this you know? You can't even stop me what if this girl is crazy and something happens to you?" She asked him with a raised eye brow.

"_Yeah right_, lets look at the chart here..._big cosmic Rocky_, _itty bitty _little Maria, I'll be fine." He assured her snatching the ball away why she registered what he said. "I'll trust that I guess," 

"_Thank you_." He said, "On one condition?" She added and he looked at her in wonder. "You stay away from her? Promise me this Rocky..." She gave him her widest bluest eyes and he couldn't resist that face and he gave in. "Alright,....I won't see her, I don't know why not, but I won't."

"Good. Now, lets help you with that practice." They charged out to the field and started kicking the ball back and fourth to each other.

* * * 

At the Douglas house, Tum tum and Colt are spring cleaning as their mother had suggested they help her with since they were so bored today and so far it was going along.....interestingly.

"What in the world is _this_?" Colt asked Tum while pulling a molding sock out of his brothers drawer that was attached to a devil dog, Little Debbie. "I wondered where that went to." Tum tum said pulling the cake away from the sock and bringing it to his mouth. "Tum if you eat that-..." but his words were cut off by the young boy doing just that. "Eeuww! Don't you have any scruples?" Tum tum shrugged finishing the snack and smiled to him. "I wouldn't know, what are scruples?"

Colt put a hand to his forehead shaking his head back and fourth. "Of all the family's to be born into I have to have the one with the garbage disposal and the white knight." He said that part referring to Rocky.

"Yeah and just my luck to be born into a family with a loud mouth, bug eyed, mop haired-.." Colt broke his chatter with laughter to that one. "Oh no I'm not finished yet then there's the fact that-..." Colt covered his mouth by stuffing the sock in it. "Later _weed_. We gotta clean up now, come on."

"Boys?" Mrs. Douglas shouted up the stairs to them, they put an ear to her voice, "Can you hear me?" "Yeah mom." Colt replied and she continued checking her purse to make sure she had enough money in it. "I'm going to the grocery store would you like anything?"

"Nothing for me." Colt said and Tum took a moment to really think about it. "Can you get me some brownies?!" "Sure baby, see you in a bit and lock the door behind me okay?" "Okay."

Jessica walked out of the house closing the door, and got into the car starting it up then pulled out of the drive way. Colt and Tum were looking out of the window and they smiled to each other when they saw the car disappear into the distance. "Let's get out of here." 

"Yeah." Tum said agreeing with his second older brother.

As they left the house Colt locked the door behind them, then stuffed the key in his pocket. "Tum wait up!" He called to his back as he made a break for the park; Colt hadn't noticed when his key slid down his leg from the hole in his pocket and hit the ground as he ran to catch up to Tum.

'A key....' Maria thought stepping out of the bushes in front of the Douglas house. She walked over to it and bent down to pick it up. "I'll only be in for a minute they won't even notice." She said allowed to herself as she unlocked the door to their house. 'Just _one_ _divine_ _minute_.'

The door opened and she walked inside after scanning the living room with her eyes. 'Oh it's so clean!' The girl said to herself whirling around with her arms extended. 'Ha ha ha, this place is wonderful!' 

She walked into the kitchen and touched the table wondering which chair was the one Rocky sat in the most, then she walked upstairs in awe at the sight of the room that said keep out and caution on the door with a sign. 'This must be it.' As she turned the knob on the door she heard voices outside downstairs. "I think I might have dropped my key, hold on okay?"

'His brother's, oh no, they're back.' She thought and walked into the closet to hide. "Huh....?" Colt said as he walked into the house. "What?" Tum asked twirling little circles to amuse himself while he waited for Colt to find his key. "Didn't I lock the door when we left?" He asked his little brother while he stared at the lock and Tum shrugged an answer. 'I'm pretty sure I did, how did it get open?' He wondered looking around for his mom's or dad's car but they weren't there. 

"Tum come here....." He whispered to him and he walked over with a face that asked, 'What's going on?' "I think someone might be in our house, we're gonna go in and look around be ready." "Got it." Tum said with a thumbs up as they slouched over and crept inside their house.

It was as though a wind were blowing through there as they made quick movements to check the rooms and closets. It wasn't until they were in their bedroom that Tum huffed out in exasperation slapping his hands down at his side. "This is stupid nobodies here, maybe you never had the key in the first place and you just locked the door as you closed it." 

He said trying to make some sense of why the door was open. "It's possible that the door blew open too because you didn't shut it all the wa-...." He was cut off by the sound of something falling in the closet and they both turned and looked at the sudden noise.

Maria slid herself down the wall to try to hide but she saw them approaching through the vent like slits in the wooden door. When Colt's hand reached the knob she closed her eyes and began concentrate. "Got' cha!" 

An hour later Rocky came back inside from his practice and Emily waved good bye to him as she went into her own house. "Bye Emily." He said to her wave and walked in completely spinning the ball on his finger.

"And now for a snack," He said to himself going into the kitchen letting the ball roll from his hands to the floor as he got up to the sink to wash them. 

He took a breath and let it out slowly while he waited for himself to finish washing up, then he dried his hands on a paper napkin and strolled to the fridge for a slice of cheese cake his Grandma made for them when she visited last week- her and their Grandpa had split up a long time ago so she never seen them over the summers but she did get her time during the Spring on their breaks from school, and she loved her grandson's very much.

"Ahh my favorite," He took out a fork from the drawer and placed a slice on a paper plate then returned it back to the fridge and walked out into the living room placing his snack down and he strolled upstairs to their room. 

"Hey you guys-.....?" He stopped himself because they were both lying down on their beds sleeping, but what Rocky found as strange is that they were lying in the same fashion- on their backs with their hands resting over their chests.

Rocky didn't wanna wake them up but he had to ask them if they were all right, even if they'd be a little ticked at him later on. He walked over to Colt's bed and shook him lightly. "Hey Colt?" He said as half a whisper. "Tum tum wake up." He looked at them and than a little worry hit his face as he put a hand to their noses and mouths to check for breathing. 'At least they're alive.' "Guys wake up!" He said a bit louder, still nothing.

"What in the world is going on?" He turned to get a cup of water from the bathroom and Colt began to stir just as he came back and threw it on him. "Rocky!?" He shouted shaking the water from his hair. "Ugh! What did you do that for?" 

"You're all right!" He said with a smile throwing his arms around him as Tum started to wake up too. "What's going on? And who's eating my cheese cake?" He said rubbing his eyes sitting up.

"You guys were sleeping like the dead I had to make sure you were ok. What happened to you?" He asked them looking at their faces hard so they wouldn't lie. "We were cleaning and just got tired so we took a nap that's all." Tum said still a little drowsy. 

"Yeah, thanks for saving me the trouble of going all the way to the bathroom for a shower." Colt said in mock anger. "Sorry Rocky replied with a lame smile. 'Swoo, glad they're ok, it's still pretty strange though how they'd fall asleep like that, but if they say they're ok than who am I to complain.' 

Rocky looked down at the floor as he turned to leave and he noticed a shimmer catch his eye. "Hey who's key is this?" "I told you you locked the door from the inside while we were lea-....ving........" Tum said letting his words drag as he finished them. 'When did we go outside? We were cleaning the whole time?' He thought to himself scratching his head.

"What is it?" Rocky asked looking at him funny. "Nothing. Except, I'm hungry and I want some cheese cake, lets go." He got up from the bed and ran to the door. "You sure you're all right?" Rocky asked before going to rescue the food that he had sitting out downstairs. "Yeah," Colt responded while staring at his key that Rocky handed him. "........Everything's fine."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

"Who knows the answer to this problem?" The teacher asked looking around the room for a show of hands, Rocky looked around the room too but no one had their hand up so he raised his. "The answer is 345 ma'am." "Correct thank you Samuel." He smiled sweetly and wrote his answer down. 

"Alright now, who can answer this next problem? 785 times 5 equals what now?" She looked around for a show of hands and everyone looked at Rocky who sighed and raised his hand in the air. "The answer is 3925." The teacher thanked him again and Rocky again returned a smile. 

His attention went out the window as the teacher took off her glasses because he knew that there would be a- 'Don't let Samuel answer all of the problems for you, do some work _yourselves_ show me what _you _know.' speech coming on, he'd heard it so many times he could give it himself.

As he looked out the window he saw a girl in the distance on the kick ball field by the gym area. Her outline looked newly familiar to him, but, he figured it must be his imagination recognizing the figure because he was sure he hadn't seen any one that looked like that before so he returned his attention to class as the teacher's speech ended.

The class looked hardly phased by her words and continued to sit bored by it, until the bell rang. "Alright tonight's homework assignment is to work out of the book on page 346, be sure to show your work okay, thank you and-.....oh dear." The woman said noticing that Rocky was the only one actually writing down the assignment in his assignment book. 

She flopped down at her desk and shook her head in exasperation. "What am I doing wrong?" She said to herself, but he answered her anyway. "Personally, I think it's just lack of will to learn on their parts.....You're doing a great job Mrs. Creed." He patted the woman on the shoulder before he walked out of the room.

"Ugfh!" He banged into someone when rounding the corner and knocked them to the floor. "Oh! I'm really sorry!" He said helping the person up- it was Maria! "It's okay," she said slowly. "it was my fault." She looked him up and down and then walked down the hall. Rocky looked after her with question but figured it was nothing so he walked to his next class.

Maria glanced over her shoulder and watched him go with a smile, before she disappeared into the crowd in the hall way.

* * *

"Hey Colt, over here!" Rocky called to his brother when he saw him leave the cafeteria to join most of the school outside. The lunchroom was too small right now and they were getting another side built so they were allowed to eat outside if they wanted to until further notice to avoid over crowding.

"Hey, Rock'. Whoa!" Colt was tripped from someone sitting at the stone picnic tables. His tray flew off into nowhere and he stumbled forwards onto his hands and knees, but quickly pushed himself back onto his feet. "Haa haa haa......well, well look at you on your little hands and knees like the dog you are, Douglas." Darren Whittle stated watching him dust himself off. "Yeah little horsy, you giving out free rides again?" His best friend Bah Ha followed him up.

Colt dusted himself off and looked at them with bitter eyes but then turned on an arrogant smile. "You think after all this time you'd learn not to mess with the bull, because here come the _horns_!" He rushed at them slamming into Darren knocking him to the ground getting ready to beat him senseless but both Rocky and Bah Ha were trying to stop him from his attack on the other boy.

When they were finally able to yank him away, he spit on the ground beside the bully's head. "Aahh you're not worth it anyway." He walked away with his brother to the table he, Emily and Eleanor were sitting at.

"Man that guy really gets on my nerves what's his problem in life?" Colt wondered mostly to himself looking back in their direction. "Uh, you." Rocky said taking an obvious stab at the answer. 

Colt looked at him with a scrunched up face then turned his attention else where. "So did you guys hear about the new girl, Maria?" Eleanor said opening her chocolate milk. Emily nearly choked on her own drink hearing the name of that girl and Rocky tried to act as though he wasn't interested. "What about her?" Asked Colt blissfully unaware of the new girl in topic, how she was now a no touch topic.

"Well I heard that she was some kind of _snob_," this got Rocky's attention and he put his ear to it but doodled on a piece of paper to pretend he wasn't. "and that her parents are rich and live in a huge mansion, but here's the twist I also heard that her father was an undertaker and her _mother_ was the one who _put them there_." 

Colt huffed out laughter and Rocky looked at his friend a minute. "Where did you hear that?" He asked her receiving a pinch on the shoulder from Emily and he winced from the brief pain. 

"This _boy_ told me, during third period." Emily across the table with wide eyes and nodded her head. "That would make so much sense, why just the other day-..." 

"Emily, enough." Rocky said cutting her off but she went on.

"She was in you guys' backyard hitting on Rocky like there were no tomorrow." 

"Really?" Colt asked, bringing his attention to the conversation. "And then when I went back there she had the nerve to-..." Rocky slammed his hands down on the table and stood up. "Emily, that's _enough_!" He nearly shouted at her and the girl looked stunned as well as his brother and friend. "I don't wanna here anymore out of your mouth about this girl you don't even know her." He said in a _tight low whisper_.

"Rocky, what are you saying?" She asked him cocking her head. "I'm sorry for yelling at you but that's the way it came out.....Not to long ago you to were being talked about and disliked because of what people think of your weight so I really wouldn't start in on rumors about this girl Maria, _okay_?" She nodded stiffly a little frightened by this sudden outburst of emotions for a perfect stranger and even more shocked at how he walked away from the table leaving his food behind. 

"Rocky I-....." But the rest didn't come out of her mouth she just sat there silently picking at her food.

"You want me to talk to him?" Colt offered but she shook her head trying to fight tears and got up herself going inside the cafeteria to eat her lunch. "It was just gossip." Eleanor said to Colt who gave her a look that simply said, 'Sorry.'

Rocky huffed over to a tree, angrily grumbling to himself about how people are now a days and as he sat down he heard a familiar voice in the back of his mind. "People can be so cold sometimes don't pay it any mind."

"Maria?" Rocky asked himself turning slightly around to see the other side of the tree and sure enough the petite brown haired girl was there smiling at him. "Hi, nice to see you again." She said to him and he looked kinda nervous but didn't move from his sitting place. 

"You too." He managed to get out. "Wanna have lunch with me? I see you left yours behind we can share if you like?"

"U-umm, y-yeah sure." He stammered out as she handed him a half of her store bought sandwich. "Thank you." He said to her and took a bite she watched him eat with a smile and began to eat herself. 

'Soon Rocky, very soon.' She thought and opened her drink after placing her sandwich in a cover from bugs. 

After a while she looked at him, he was staring at the ground sadly and she lifted his chin to have his face meet hers. "Rocky....?" She asked, "Yes?" He responded, almost mindlessly. "What's the matter?" she began to slow the movement of her lips. 

"I'm....._afraid_." She turned herself more to reach out for him into a hug. "It's okay Rocky you don't have to be afraid anymore......" She said to him and her mouth remained shut the whole time...... 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

"Hey Colt." Emily said entering the Douglas house after school; she has her own key that Mrs. Douglas agreed from Rockys convincing to give her. She rocked on her heals in place with her hands placed together in front of her looking at him as though she were waiting for a response and he just nodded to her and went back to his TV show.

"Is Rocky here?" She asked him. He raised an eye brow and took the straw from his drink once he was done with drinking out of it and chewed on it for a moment then looked at her. "I thought he was with you?" She shook her head saying, "No. He isn't with me, I saw him walking home after school- he was alone, but he was still walking home...wh- why did he say anything to you?"

Colt began to get restless with the twenty questions- not his favorite game- marathon so he let out a sigh to show his exasperation on the subject. "He said exactly, 'I am walking home with Emily.' That's it. If he ain't with you," He shifted positions on the couch and continued. "it's not my problem." He continued biting on the straw then changed the channel. She thought that over and let out a sigh of a- 'Sorry.' to have to bother him again. 

"Well he's not with me, do you know where he might be?"

"I don't have a clue Em', maybe he went to get you a make up present, I don't know." She had a sudden smile on her face at the thought of that and she turned to leave the house with a smile on her face, but when she got to her front door she looked down saddening. She hated making Rocky feel this way- to have to get her gifts just so she can feel better for something that was actually her own fault. 'Don't worry Rocky,' She thought. 'this time...I'm gonna do something for _you_.'

* * *

Maria opened the door to her house and walked inside. Rocky lingered in the background not really sure he wanted to go in, but she turned and gave him a gaze that made him follow her in quickly- _or else_. When he went inside he felt the heat hit his skin instantly and wanted to go back outside.

She sensed the nervousness coming from him and turned around hugging him. "What ever are you afraid of?" She asked him, speaking into his chest. "The heat, it's too hot in here I won't be able to breathe..." 

He answered almost automatically as if he'd been saying that his whole life, Rocky had developed a speck of asthma and too much heat drove his senses crazy, their mom almost made him stop doing ninja- something his dad would have easily backed up, but it wasn't that severe it was only when he was in the heat. She smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek pulling herself away and patting his chest afterwards. "You're paranoid, it's not hot in here silly." She walked inside and gestured for him to come further in as well. "Come on."

He walked in and to Rockys surprise the heat did feel as though it were pushing itself away from him. The house was big and cozy looking. She strolled into the kitchen and to the fridge to get them a drink, Rocky sat on the couch and swallowed hard looking around the house for something- _anything_ that would get him away from here. "I hope you like apple juice?" She said returning with two glasses of apple juice and placed one down on the table and handed the other to Rocky, who took it and stared down into the glass.

'The bathroom....' He thought and she frowned at him then smiled and said, "It's the first door one the right." He looked up at her with question. "Huh?" He asked and she smiled at him trying to think of a good explanation. "Well you were staring into your drink as though you had to go; sooo, the bathroom is the first door on the right.

"Oh, thank you, I'll be right back." He set his glass down and walked down the hall to the bathroom when he was inside he ran the water and splashed his face in the sink, sniffing some of the water up his nose. 'What is _wrong_ with me? What am I doing here?' He thought looking around the bathroom, there was a picture of Maria in there, a medium sized painting to be exact. There was something _off _about the way she looked in it almost- _evil_.

Rocky reached over and flushed the unused toilet so he wouldn't seem suspicious when she didn't hear the flush. and he pretended to wash his hands and after that brief moment he opened the door and nearly smacked into her making him stagger backwards. "Ah. Maria what are you doing here, ha ha." She looked at him with a smile and he just moved her aside and let himself by her. "Are you making sure I didn't fall in? I didn't mean to take so long." He said trying to make light of the fact that he was actually getting very scared right now.

"What were you doing in there?" She asked and Rocky looked at her with a smile that girls couldn't resist. "I was just freshening up, like I said before I felt hot and I thought I was gonna sweat...I wouldn't wanna get that on your clean furniture, would I?"

She thought that over then smiled responding, "No, I guess not. My mom wouldn't like it that's for sure." 

"Oh your mom?! What's she like? Is she as bad as my mom with over protection?" He asked her changing the subject. It was as if Rockys mind was cleared from the water and he was seeing things clearly now and he wanted _out _of there.

"Yes, she's _very_ protective, especially because...of what happened to my brother Coren." She said walking by Rocky taking his wrist and guiding him to the couch again. "You have a brother?" He asked and she nodded sitting them down and shoving the glass in his hands. "Mmhm, yes. He's-....he's gone now though." 

Rocky thought for a moment about what she could mean by gone and she cleared it up for him that when he turned back to face her with question. "He's been taken by my aunt Marissa, she said that this environment was too much for him he needed a quiet area to live in, she went to Connecticut with him." Rocky thought about that but decided not to ask the question that was forming in his mind. "I know what your thinking," she said with more truth than he knew. "He was a special boy, he needed to be where he couldn't hurt people....he was.....crazy- scary and crazy; our own family feared him and my aunt said that she could tame him but....." She trailed off and sipped her apple juice.

"This is good, huh?" She said obviously ready to change subjects; Rocky hadn't even touched the stuff yet but he brought the glass unwillingly to his lips and took a sip, she watched him the whole time with a smile on her face. 

"This is really-...." Rocky held his throat and started coughing, he nearly doubled over on the table but she caught him with a hand on his chest and across his back and she started patting it. 'It'll only hurt for a minute Rocky just relax.' He heard her saying to him but even through the blur he could see that- she wasn't moving her mouth!

With this realization he stood up suddenly and ran to the door. "Where are you going?!" She called after him but he didn't stop even though his whole body hurt, he _had_ to get away from her. "Come back here! Rocky don't leave me!......Rocky!?" He didn't stop running until he got home.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

Rocky opened the door and slammed it shut behind him pressing his back against it, panting from the run. "What happened to you?" Colt asked, sitting up on the couch thinking his brother was in some kind of fight and couldn't exactly win.

Rocky looked at him strangely thinking he was alone but Colt looked at him with questioning eyes and stood up to walk over to him, but Rocky shrank away from him and ran upstairs with Colt calling behind him. "Rocky, what's the matter?! Hey?!" But all Rocky heard was Maria's voice telling him to come back to her.

"Class, today we're going to start with our presentations that we made last week. Who's ready to show theirs first?" The teacher looked around the room then her eyes landed on the short brown haired girl. "Maria? How about you?" The girl looked as though she were in another place and the teacher snapped her fingers to get her attention, but remembered what she was doing and walked over tapping the girl on the shoulder. 

"You're presentation?" She said to her again and she nodded silently- sadly. 'I won't let Rocky leave me like this....I have to get him back, we-re supposed to be together he _loves_ me.' 

"My presentation is on....the Samurai, they were really skilled warriors and they fought with the way of the _Bushido_ which means in English, _way of the Samurai_." Maria continued on with her presentation and the class looked on enthusiastically and her mind was too busy to be else where, which was a good thing especially because Rocky just walked by the class room door with some papers he had to bring to another teacher in the art room. 

He glanced in and noticed her, his blood ran cold and his breath became sharp, he ran past as quickly as he could bumping into Emily on his way. "Whoa!" She said keeping her balance and helped him up. "Rocky what's the-...?" She began but he cut her off by kissing her quickly on the lips. 

"What was that for?" She asked not really minding. "I'm sorry for yesterday, you're not mad at me are you?" He asked her looking over his back not noticing that she bent over to pick up the papers and placed them in his hands. "No I'm not mad, I was more worried....Colt aside you came in looking positively spooked. What happened?" She asked him looking into his eyes. 

He avoided them by looking at the papers in his arms, and sighed. "I uh...I have to bring these papers to the art teacher....I'll-....I'll see you after school, okay?" He turned to leave but she held his shoulder and turned him around. 

"Wait. You-...you said that before to Colt and then you never showed up until way late, so...is this gonna be a repeat of yesterday?" She waited for her answer and he lowered his eyes from her, then looked up with a smile. "No. I _promise_ you that I'll walk home with you, we could even take the bus if you want, any way we get there I'll be with you. I _mean_ it." 

She searched his face to see if he were telling the truth but there wasn't an ounce of lie there so she shrugged and let him go to his art class. 'I don't know what it is, but something tells me this has to do with that Maria girl. 

And I'm gonna find out what her story is one way or another.' Emily thought continuing her trip to the girls room. 

Rocky hated lying to Emily, but he had to; he couldn't tell her that he was at Maria's house she'd have a heart attack! She said not to be around her and she had every right to be that way. 

'What is with her?' Rocky wondered, opening the door that led outside to the art building. 'Why does she like me so much? I've never even seen her until that afternoon after the sports banquette......something she said- maybe I know her from before and I just don't remember because it was so long ago. What did she say to me?' 

He wracked his brains for a moment but the conversation wouldn't come to him. He ground his teeth angrily as he stood there in the middle of the path that led to the building. 'Why can't I remember?!' "Rocky?" It was Eleanor she was walking up the path he and she took art together, they were the best artist in the class maybe even the school. 

"Oh, hi Elle." He said snapping out of his trance as she approached him. "What's the matter you look upset?" Rocky shook his head to disagree although it was an obvious lie. "Well, I wanted to say that I'm sorry for yesterday, you were right, I shouldn't have talked about that girl like that. I heard that she was in a special class and well....it's rude of me anyways." 

"It's okay, really, but you say she's in a special class? What kind?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know that answer but he asked it and it looked as if Eleanor was gonna answer. "I think that she's a-..." 

"Get to class, children." A teacher said coming up to them. "I'm on my way to the bathroom, Mr. Fletch." The girl said holding up her bathroom pass. "I'm dropping these papers off." Rocky said in his own defense. 

"Well move it along this is not a chat room." He said pushing their backs in the direction they should be going in. They walked the rest of the way on their own. Rocky was a little annoyed that he couldn't hear about her problem- her....special class. 'Or maybe I'm relieved?' He wondered to himself opening the art door and slipping over to the teachers desk dropping them off. "Thank you Sam." He said and the girls in the class giggled when they saw him in there and they tried to move their hair into a quick style they thought made them look best and said in sync, "Hi Sam." 

He waved to them trying to smile but he couldn't find it, so he left it at that and walked away. 'Those girls like me, but they don't act on it why only does Maria?' He wondered to himself as he strolled back to his own class. 

The bell rang letting all the class's out so they could go to their next one and Rocky had to hurry to avoid running into Maria. He ran up the hall until he saw Colt and he stopped him by grabbing his arm and guiding him into the boys room. 

"Hey what's the big idea, the interval only last for three minutes maybe two, what's the matter with you? Oh! Is it about yesterday cause-..." Rocky slapped his hand over Colt's mouth and placed a finger in front of his mouth to tell him to be quiet. "I have to talk to you, wait." He pulled away from him and looked under the bathroom stalls to make sure they were alone. "You know Rocky for a guy your hands smell really good." He said cheerfully to avoid the seriousness he could tell would be in the conversation. 

"Thank you, listen I went to Maria's house yesterday." 

"What?! Is that why you floored it into the house then bolted upstairs?" Colt asked with interest thinking. 'Oh boy, goodie-goodie Rocky getting in trouble knowing Emily said he didn't want him around her, this is great.' "Pay attention." Rocky said snapping him back to reality. "Listen don't tell Emily okay? Please? I didn't mean to- in fact I don't even know how it happened! All I know is that we were talking during lunch by the tree and it gets fuzzy from there then I remember talking to you." 

Colt nodded finishing his thought for him. 

"Yeah, you said you were going to be with Emily. But you weren't and she flipped out when she found out that you weren't there." He said turning to the door. "I really can't stay though, I get into enough trouble on my own I don't need you helping me and thank 

God my class is right up the hall, have fun in art Rock' see ya." 

He watched his brother leave the bathroom and enter the hall and as the door swung open Rockys eyes moved through the crowd and saw another pair looking back at him. His mouth parted to mouth something but he closed it and ran to pull the door shut so the eyes wouldn't stare at him anymore. 

'How am I gonna get out of the bathroom, it's like this girl is everywhere, well at least it's the last class. I'll be home where I'm safe from her.' He thought then another thought occurred to him. 'Why am I so frightened of her? What happened to big cosmic Rocky?' He huffed out his answer. "Itty bitty Maria is scary." He walked to the bathroom door and opened it seeing that he was alone. He sighed with relief and started down the hall to the art room. 

* * * 

When art class was over and the final bell to go home rang Rocky waited by the seventh grade lockers for Emily. He had completely forgotten that he had soccer practice today and he had to ask her to wait for him on the bleachers. "Bye Rock'." Colt said walking by with a group of his friends and Rocky waved at him watching him leave thinking. 'Look at him, so care free so innocent....Why do I have all the problems?' As he talked to himself someone was approaching slowly and reaching out a hand to grab his shoulder. 

'How do you get rid of bad people? How do I even know she's bad it could have all been in my head the other day that-...' "Rocky?" He jumped clear out of his skin spinning around to see-...! "Emily." He sighed out throwing his arms around her and she hugged him back smiling sweetly. "If this is the treatment I get I'll be a little late leaving everyday." She said breaking the hug and looking at him with love. 

"Thanks for waiting." She followed up and started for the door but Rocky grabbed her hand. "We have to go to the gym, I forgot I have a soccer practice today will you watch I mean if you don't have anything to do after school?" 

"Rocky my only activity is _you_. Now come, on I'd love to watch you practice." They went out the side door of the building and Maria stood in the place where they had just left seconds ago and she stared angrily after them. 'Emily.' She thought to herself walking outside quietly and seeing that they went in the other direction left an opening for her to go to the bleachers and take a place high above everyone unnoticed and unseen. 

"Thanks coach." Rocky said getting a pat on the shoulder from the man. "I'll see you in a minute Em' okay?" Rocky said leaving her to go into the locker room and put on his uniform with the rest of the team. Emily walked over to the bleachers and sat down somewhere in the middle for a better view of the field. 'I love watching him do this. He's so angelic with his movements hm hm there's nothing _Rocky_ about him at all.' She smiled watching him come out to the field. 

'It should have been you Rocky, not that _nobody_.' Maria thought drawing in a sketch book watching them take their positions, she scribbled quickly into it as she looked down smiling at Rocky and frowning angrily at _that boy_! That boy who took Rockys award that night who did he think he was?! 'I'll show you, you'll never play in this sport again.' She scribbled quicker hearing the whistle blow and she smiled down at the field as the guys started moving. 

"Come on, Sam! Whoo!" Emily said standing up and clapping watching him and the star player fight for their goals- well, play fight because they were all on the same team. Maria looked down the bleachers and saw Emily. 'How could I have over looked that?' 

She thought and tried to shrink further back into the shade to hide herself as she drew. 

"Oof!" The boy said tripping to the ground, Rocky helped him up and asked if he were ok, and the boy nodded and they went back to the game. Maria laughed at the site of it and continued drawing, only as she turned the pages from the next drawing she'd just finished Emily's ears caught the noise and she turned looking up. 'Maria?!' The girl stared down at her as though she'd heard her say her name out loud. 

A small smirk came across her face as she looked down at her and especially when she noticed that Emily stood and started coming up to her. "Well, well, well. Maria." Emily said getting up to the girl and crossing her arms to show it wasn't for pleasantries. "What do you think you're doing? I know you're here for a reason...._Rocky_; but what I don't understand is, _why_?" The strange girl giggled and flipped another page in her book and started drawing a picture hurriedly. "What's so funny?" Emily asked and the girl stood up pointing to the field. 

Not really wanted to Emily turned around following her point. Rocky and the boy were bumping elbows trying to get the ball the rest of the team was nearly just standing and watching as the two boys fought for it, then the star player did something nobody expected- he bashed Rocky in the mouth with his elbow! "OW!" He held his mouth in pain feeling tears sting his eyes. "I have to go help him." Emily said but the girl grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face her smiling. 

"No, watch." She pointed again and Rocky was down on the field beating the boy into the ground! "Rocky stop!" Emily shouted but nobody heard her and Maria started laughing again. 

"It's not funny!" Emily shouted at her glancing down at her sketch book seeing a picture of the boys fighting. "What the-....?" Came from her mouth, as she watched Maria flip the page and grin at her. "I drew this one of _you_." 

Suddenly Emily felt herself falling backwards she spun her arms to keep her balance but she remained tilting backwards. "Ah! Help me!" She said grabbing the girls arm to help herself from falling but she didn't let her get a grip on it. "I'm gonna tell you this once so you'd better listen..." She said and Emily's eyes went wide with fear, what was happening to her mouth her voice? She was talking but her words were coming out quicker than her mouth could move as if she couldn't stay in sync with them. 

"Rocky is mine. He likes me a lot more than he likes you, that's why he came to my house for drinks instead of joining you after school." She bragged saying then she closed her eyes tightly and Emily fell screaming on the way back. A few seconds before she fell. The coach put an arm around Rocky as they were going into the locker room clean up his mouth. The star player was running up beside him saying he was sorry to him. "I don't know what happened man it's like it wasn't me or something." Rocky waved it away and nodded showing he excepted his apology. 

"Hey that girl is falling!" Someone said pointing up at the bleachers. They all turned their heads looking towards the bleachers seeing. "Emily?!" Rocky shouted in horror as they watched her tip back Maria was standing there with her eyes closed but when she noticed the crowd she reached out and grabbed her shouting to be heard. "Don't worry Emily, I've got you!" The whole team ran up to the bleachers to help the girl keep Emily from falling and when she was helped into a sitting position she started screaming and backed up into Rocky. 

"Emily what's wrong?" He asked her wrapping his arms around her trying not to look at Maria. "Keep her away from me!" She screamed and Maria made a shocked face looking at all the boys faces they looked from her to Emily and then scratched there heads. "I- I was just trying to help I didn't do anythi-..." 

She was cut off from Rocky hugging her all of a sudden. Emily's mouth dropped at the site of it. "Thank you for saving her, I don't know what would happen if she'd have fallen." He moved away from her and helped Emily to her feet. "Come on Em', looks like I'm gonna have to keep a closer eye on you." He said play fully and helped her down from the bleachers. 

'As long as it gets him away from _her_, I can play the baby.' Emily thought looking back at the girl and she stared at her wickedly sneering. Emily just stuck her tongue out and continued down the bleachers with _her_ boyfriend. 'Not for long.' Maria thought humming and picking up her things to leave. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6. 

"How do you feel?" The coach asked Rocky, after he rinsed the blood from his mouth and got cleaned up. "Yeah, I'm fine." 

"I'm really sorry Sam," Brandon said. "It's okay, I'm sorry for tripping over you on the way, haha." Rocky said, Emily remained quiet in the background and listened to what they were saying until she could find the time to ask Rocky about this little trip to Maria's house. 

"Well, next time I'll put you two on the same side for practice you're too aggressive alone." The coach said patting the boys on the back. "But I don't think I'm really in the mood to practice much anymore, so you boys go on home." He said to the team and they went into the locker room to get changed. Rocky just grabbed his bag and walked to the door with Emily close behind. 

"I know what you're gonna say, so you might as well just spit it out, so you can follow it up with one of your, 'You never listen to me.' lectures." He huffed out then held out a hand shaking his head. "It'd just be pointless though, because I don't know why I went over there. I think I was just upset about what happened earlier and she seemed lonely so I went." She was quiet as she walked behind him and it was starting to get on his nerves. "Well? Aren't you gonna say anything?" 

"Oh no Rocky, you're doing a fine job of imitating someone you think you know....I mean, I'm not so shallow as to think something were wrong with you disobeying me when I asked you to stay away from her, or the fact that you probably made a date with her like you've done every time someone's asked you out and you don't wanna be _rude_." She went on, "oh no, because you're Rocky, '_ladies_ _man_' Douglas. And you would never keep a good girl down." 

"What?" He asked and she grumbled and walked ahead of him. "Nothing happened, in fact I left that place faster then I went in!" He called after her but she just stomped off with her arms crossed. Rocky slumped his shoulders and kept an even pace a few feet behind her. 

'Why does she always have to blow things out of perspective, she always gets like this and sometimes it's understandable, but times like now it's just unnecessary and annoying.' He thought to himself and then he felt a strong heart beat in his ears, he looked around expecting to find Maria somewhere watching but no one was there so he continued his walk home in the slightly hushed wine of Emily in front of him. 

'That loser can't even appreciate him the way I could, he would never walk home like that with me......I have to-' She paused in her train of thought and looked across the street. 'Brandon Micah, the _star player_.' She thought angrily. 'Probably wants to make fun of 

Rocky more or hurt him again like he did this afternoon.....I'll show him.' 

She stepped out from her hiding place behind a thick trunked tree across the street and whistled to him. 

Brandon turned his head and looked at her with an eye brow raised until he recognized her clothes and hair then he smiled and waved at her. 

"Hi." She waved back and smiled sweetly blowing him a kiss then motioning him over. He looked a little hesitant until she lifted her skirt a little not showing anything but hinting enough that she really wanted him to come to her. 

He licked his lips and swallowed hard. 'Just for a minute.' He thought to himself walking across the street. She kept his gaze on her as she tossed her hair turning herself away from him and walking into some under brush. He smiled to that idea and quickened his pace, but it wasn't quick enough as a car horn started blaring into the air and_- SCREEEEECH_!!!!! 

She hummed and walked up the path to her house, then broke into a loud laugh and ran.

* * * 

"There is _nothing_ on." Tum tum complained as he flipped through the channels on the TV. "Hand me the remote then, the WMAC masters is coming on in a minute, and I don't wanna miss a single episode." Rocky said extending his hand to him and he gave his brother the remote sitting himself in the chair. He figured he might as well watch it too since there was nothing else to do. 

"What's this about anyway?" asked Tum placing his feet up on the coffee table and opening and closing them like a pair of scissors. "Well, it's like a video game come to life you go into a metal arena and then you fight with someone and so on and then you become world champion....you get it?" Tum tum shook his head not even really wanting to have heard the explanation in the first place and watched the TV. wordlessly. 

They heard guitar strings being plucked seconds after the show started so Rocky turned it up to go over the noise a little. Their mother walked in with a frown on her face placing her brief case down and went into the kitchen with Rocky following her. 

He sat at the counter table on a stool and watched her pour herself a drink when she turned around she nearly dropped the cup from a startled jump. "Rocky I told you not to use that ninja sneaking thing on us." She smiled and he smiled back but then it faded into concern. "Mom?" 

"Yes, sweetie?" She replied trying not to call attention to the tone in her voice. "What's the matter? You look really sad, did something happen at work today?" She looked at his face and knew that of all people she could hide something from Rocky wasn't on of them, but she shook her head and put a hand on his cheek. 

"No, honey nothing you need to worry about...fix yourself a snack and watch your brothers fr me I have to go and talk to your father," she walked around the counter to the sink and placed her cup inside then she patted Rocky on the back and walked out of the kitchen. 

Rocky let out a sigh and went to the fridge to get him and Tum something to eat then he returned to the living room. "I take it you like the show?" He laughed out. His brother was at the edge of his seat staring at the screen, it wasn't until the cheese cake was placed in his face that he snapped out of it. 

"It's not the show it's that guy," he pointed with his fork to the screen, Rocky looked and saw a man in red and shrugged. "What about him?" 

"Look at him, really look." He looked at him and didn't know what he was supposed to see so he shook his head and shrugged his free hand. "It's scorpion-...from Mortal Kombat?" 

"How can you tell?" He looked at him closer. "Because they have the same body shape and style I know his fighting style anywhere." Rocky laughed to himself because sadly enough he was the same way when he liked someone alot and the guy that played reptile was by far his favorite of the movie and Colt of course liked sub-zero it's as if their whole life was around their ninja colors- yellow, green, and blue as if fate really did put them in these lives and-.... 

The phone rang breaking his concentration, he reached over and took the receiver of it's base. "Hello?" A woman's voice quickly followed his own asking him something so quickly he hadn't heard it. "I'm sorry could you say that again? I didn't quite hear you." 

"I'm sorry but have you seen Brandon?" it was Brandon's mom, Mrs. Micah. "Not since after practice, he was walking about a yard from Emily and me, why he didn't get home yet?" his voice was beginning to break up in his throat how could this boy have not made it home he was walking right behind him his house was about a block away there's no way he wouldn't have made it. 

"I called everyone of the other boys on the team and so far no one's seen him since practice I'm so worried, he's never come home late a day in his life." The woman was in tears and Rockys heart went out to her. "I'll go out and look for him if you want and even if you don't I'm going- I have to....if I can't find him then you call the police okay Mrs. Micah?" He heard her say a faint, 'yes.' on the other end. "Okay, I'm going right now, good bye ma'am." He hung up the phone and stood to get his sneakers from beside the door. 

"Where are you going?" Tum asked. "More like where are _we _going, Colt get out here!" He shouted up the stairs to him. There was one final cord and then the door opened. "What is it?" He stepped into the hall way and looked over the balcony down at them. 

"We have to go look for someone, you remember Brandon Micah?" Colt nodded and started down the stairs, "Why, what's the matter?" 

"He's missing, his mom said he didn't come home after practice and he was right behind me and Emily." He responded putting his sneakers on. Colt raised an eye brow crossing his arms with a sly smile. "The day you mess up your ever popular correction to the world, I _know_ this kid must be in trouble." 

Rocky looked at Colt for a minute as though he didn't know he said anything at all. "What?" Tum laughed to himself from their exchange in conversation. "Come on." 

They opened the front door and walked outside squinting a second in the sun light until their eyes adjusted. "You two search that way and I'll go this way. If you see him tell him to just-...._go home_. Okay?" His brothers gave him a thumbs up as a 'Got it.' then they separated. 

* * * 

"Well, this is the last place we were-...." he heard talking and noticed a crowd right away. He trotted up to them and parted his way through the crowd. "O-ouch, my legs....Sam?" The boy said when he saw Rocky come through the crowd, his mouth dropped open when he saw that Brandon's legs were black and blue and he was on a stretcher. "What happened to you?!" 

"I was going across the street to uh....talk to that one girl what was her name....short brown hair she was at the field today?" "Maria?!" Rocky said as more of a shock then response and the boy nodded letting out a little cry of pain.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7.  
  
Bravely Rocky marched to Maria's house with intent on busting the door down and asking a stream of questions, but as he approached the house he froze mid knock and stared at the door. Some one was in there with her!  
  
He put his ear to the door for a better listen and he heard a woman's voice on the other side. 'Why is she talking to herself?' He wondered trying to get a better listen by sneaking over to the cracked window; he crouched low in the bush and held his ear to the conversation.  
  
"I mean it Maria do you want me to send you back to Connecticut? I'm sure your mother would be thrilled to have you back so she and your father can send you back to that home, huh?" The woman questioned in mock tone. "Is that what you want Maria?" A pause. "Well that's what's gonna happen if I hear of any more bad behavior like this, understand?"  
  
The woman was silent and he heard no response from Maria she must have just nodded to agree, but why wasn't she talking? You think she would-..wait a second!  
  
Rocky stood up to leave away from the house but the door opened and Maria walked out freezing his path and glared at him. "Rocky? What are you doing here?" She asked him and he just looked at her. "Well, are you gonna stand there or does the cat have your tongue?" Rocky remained silent looking at her, his vision then shifted past her to the woman who was looking out the door at them. He opened his mouth to say something and the door slammed shut behind the strange girls back. "Ignore her, it's just my stupid mother." She plastered a huge smile on her face after giving the door a bone chilling glance. "You wanna go to the SunBelt with me?"  
  
Rocky blinked mindlessly and looked back at the door. "Forget about her, she's dumb....not like you and me, lets go get some food okay?"   
"Um.....Maria," his voice finally returned and he looked anywhere else but at her as he spoke. "Who was that woman back there? What were you guys talking about?"  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him and then put on a false smile. "That's my mom, Rocky....We were just talking about my messing up a report in school," she scanned his face with her eyes but he wasn't buying it, he knows what he heard from the womans mouth.  
  
"But she isn't your mother. She just said not to long ago-..."   
"You were eaves dropping?" She asked cutting him off and Rocky looked at his sneakers guiltily.   
"Sort of, she was talking kind of loudly to you." He responded wishing he hadn't. 'Why does she make me feel this way? What is it about this girl? And what did she do to Brandon? Brandon! The reason I'm here I completely forgot.' He yelled at himself for forgetting.  
  
'Brandon got what he deserved. He was a bad person who took your position for MVP at school.' 'Who is saying that?' Rocky wondered listening to the voice. 'Is it my conscience, or is it some other voice in the back of my head?' His vision accidently looked up meeting Maria's eyes. "And if you don't watch out, you'll get what you don't deserve." She suddenly reared up in Rocky's face making him lean back to evade her lunge, but the door opened behind them and she froze.  
  
Rocky's heart pounded in his ears as they stared. "Maria, phone call." She looked at Rocky and smiled politely, he didn't mean to but he frowned at her putting his head down to shade his eyes. "Who is it Ma?" The woman raised her eye brows and handed the girl the phone. 'She must be her mother.' Rocky thought silenlty. 'She just called her Ma and she said nothing back to disagree...maybe I've got things all wrong.'   
  
The girl turned to face her and paused before going inside and grabbed Rocky's face between her hands and kissed him deeply. A tingle ran through his spine and into his stomach at her touch alone, he jerked himself away and she looked at him dearly with an evil smirk. 'Now, you're mine.' Rocky's eyes went wide for second as he watched her go inside the house. "I'm heading out to the store, do you want anything?" The girl didn't answer but the woman responded as though she had. "Alright, I'll be back in an hour. Bye."  
  
She closed the door and Rocky stood where he was, feeling dazed until Maria's mom tapped him on the shoulder calling his attention. 'She looks nothing like her.' Rocky thought as the woman looked down at him with a smile.  
  
"Would you like a ride home, son?" She asked him and he nodded a reponse letting her steer him to the car. "Okay, come on."  
  
"Can I ask you something?" Rocky heard his voice saying. "I guess, sure, what is it?" Maria's mom responded. "It's about Maria I-..."  
  
"If you're going to tell me you're her boyfriend I already know, she told me she was seeing someone from school and I think you're a fine young man but, I wouldn't let Maria get the upper hand on you too much she can be-..."  
  
Rocky waved his hands and cut her off not meaning to be rude. "I'm not her boyfriend, I'm not even sure we're friends anymore-...or if we were in the first place." She looked at him sideways. "What does that mean?"  
  
"Mrs. Atkinson, I don't mean to be rude but Maria is kinda strange....I think-....I think she's stalking me." She nearly swirved when she heard those words and she parked the car on the side of the road so sharply it nearly threw them both through the windshield. "What do you mean stalking you?" She asked and Rocky clammed up a minute searching for the words. "Tell me, please."  
  
"Well," his voice was hesitant and strained. "She's been following me around since I first met her, popping up everywhere....I think she's even been to my house once or twice hanging out across the street." The womans eyes sank to the floor as Rocky went on. "She tried to-..I don't know but there was something in my drink when I came to your home one time with her and.....I'm sorry to speak so rudely of your daughter Mrs. Atkinson but-...."  
  
She stopped him from talking by raising a hand. "Where did you get the idea that she was my daughter? I don't have any children." Rocky's eyebrows furrowed for a second. "But that's what she said to me, unless she's adopted, then I'm sorry for the assumption."  
  
"And Maria isn't adopted." Now Rocky was confussed because who was she if she wasn't Maria's mother? "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Marrisa Balsem, her aunt." It was as though Rocky had been shot in the back of the head and he dropped. A blur of the woman's arms was the last thing he'd seen. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8.   
  
"I'm telling you, I don't know what happened..." Rocky was explaining to his mom and dad as they cowered over him with questions about why the side of his head was bleeding. "I always thought you were the careful one with your ninja, son and you're brought home looking like this." His father says walking away from him wiping his face from the exhasperation.  
  
"But I wasn't in a fight." Rocky insisted looking to his mom with a pleading face for her to understand him. She looked away sadly and shook her head and Rocky huffed. "I don't believe you don't believe me...you're own son. Dad I would not lie about something like this if I were beat up by somebody I would tell you but I don't know what happened."  
  
"Why don't you just go lie down for a while you probably don't remember because you're still in shock, please sweety get some rest." Rocky's shoulder's slouched to his mothers words and he walked to the stairs sadly. 'I'll figure out what happened to me and when I do I'm going to the police.'  
  
.........................................................  
  
Emily is sitting on her bed late at night putting peach toenail polish on her toe nails humming a song from "Race for your life Charlie Brown" when she hears the bathroom water start to run. 'Huh?' She thought and looked at the door. The bottom of the door indicated that someone was indead in there and since Emily's parents had gone out for the night she knew she was alone and that made the sight of feet shading the night near the under side of the door run her blood cold.  
  
Her first instinct was to do what Rocky had done- well what she thought Rocky had done back when they were kids and about to be kidnapped. She grabbed their make-shift phone and whispered through it. "Is anybody up there?" She listened for a response but none came. "Is anybody up there?" She tried a little louder.  
  
At the Douglas house Rocky is taking his time going upstairs and when he got to the room he heard activity from his end of the line. 'Emily?' He thought and walked over to it. "Emily is that you?" He said when he picked it up and she got a wave of relief from him. "Rocky I need you to come over here and get me I think there's someone in the house...." He didn't need to hear the rest of what she was saying he let the phone go and ran to the door.  
  
"Rocky where are you going?" Mrs. Douglas asked. "You're supposed to be resting!" She called after him but Rocky didn't stop- he wouldn't stop until he knew Emily was safe. When he got to the house he tried the door but it was locked. 'Damn it.' He swore to himself and looked for another way in.   
  
Upstairs. Emily is watching the door as she slips carefully from her bed, any sudden noise would alert the intruder and send them after her. When she got one foot down on the floor she then swung her leg around to put the other one beside it. 'So far so good.' She thought and what ever or whom ever was in the bathroom perked up; theyw ere both frozen in their actions waiting for the next person to make their move first and with the way she was feeling inside that first person would have to be her.  
  
She turned towards her door and made a break for it but what ever was in the bathroom moved in seconds coming out of it and grabbing her yanking her in. "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" She screamed before her hand was covered. "Oh no!" Rocky backed up a few steps and threw himself through the window of the front of the house after dusting off the glass he heard the burgalur alarm as he ran upstairs. "Emily, I'll save you, just hold on." He called out to her where ever she was. When he got into her room he looked around until he heard splashing in the bathroom.  
  
"Emily?" He kicked the door open and walked inside but what he saw made his heart stop as he drew in a sharp breath. "Maria?" He said and a sudden flash of anger struck his face and he wasn't sure what he was doing but he had to do it quickly. He crossed the small distance and grabbed the girl by her throat then dunked her under the water.   
"You wanna make a fool out of me? Huh? You wanna act like you can scare me and my girlfriend and family? Then lets see you do it dead." He couldn't believe his own ears or actions as he chocked this girl underneath the water.  
  
When the police heard the alarm the neighborhood cops were the first to arrive along with alerting others if they needed back up on this one. They kicked the door open and walked into the house when they heard screaming upstairs they raised their guns and trampled up the steps and into the room where it was the loudest.  
  
"Help me!" A girl cried and Rocky was becoming more violent with his intent of drowning her. "No one can help you now, you little-..."   
  
"Freeze!" The cops shouted pointing their guns at the boys back and Rocky froze looking at them then he heard the sound of coughing and turned his head towards it. "Emily?" He said as she got out of the water holding her neck and gasping for air. "Emily I-..." He started but the officers rushed in and grabbed him.  
  
Down at the station he's getting his finger prints checked out and looking rather confused about it. 'How did Emily get in there when I saw her- I saw Maria clearly!' He thought for a moment about the possibilities and found there were none, nothing made sense with this what did this girl want from him to lose his mind? Because he was so close to that breaking point if one more person didn't believe him. But just when he thought things couldn't get any worse his parents walked in along with his brothers. "Oh no." He turned to face them and they already looked like they didn't want any explainations from him.  
  
"I can't believe you did this, to Emily. What has she done to you- son are you losing your mind?" Jessica asked ina paniced voice. "No mom I-..." he started but was cut off by his very angry father. "You think this is a game Rocky, you could have killed her? Not to mention you delibrately disobeyed our order not to leave the house." He looked at his son and shook his head. "What do you have to say for yourself?" He then asked.  
  
"I didn't-...." but he stopped bothering with the explainations because they wouldn't believe him. "Is Emily ok?" He asked instead and Jessica nodded but Sam stepped in. "Barely. I'm still waiting for my answer." Rocky looked downwards and then back up at them shaking his head. "Go get Maria Atkinson, it's the only way you'll believe me." His fathers face scrunched up. "Who?" He crossed his arms and Rocky sighed and told them the address of the weird girl.   
  
"We'll get an officer on it." The front desk said and he stood their waiting for his punishment. "The only privlages you get are breathing son I don't want to hear anymore of your nonsense about what's been going on, and you're lucky you got off with a warning if it were from me you wouldn't be so lucky....lets go."  
  
They all followed a very angry man to the car and got inside. "Rocky I be-..." Colt started but when he heard the sniffles he stopped. 'Rocky never cries, this must be serious.' He tapped Tum- who was sitting in the middle- on the shoulder but he knew already and he looked like he was near tears. "We gotta do something about this." He whispered in his little brothers ear and he nodded to him tossing a glance back at his poor older brother.   
"But what?" He asked and Colt shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know, but I know one things for sure if this girl is doing something to Rocky we can't let her, I think we should go over to her house and stop her ourselves. Tonight." Tum looked skeptical about the plan but then a smile spread across his face. "Yeah, for Rocky." Colt smiled at the sound of that. "That's the spirit but we can't let him know what we're up to, got it?"  
  
Tum nodded and gave him a thumbs up. "Got it."   
  
* * *  
  
The lights were turned off at the girls house the only light they could see was showing from the kicthen where everyone in the neighborhoods usually leave them on any way. "It looks like the house might be empty." Colt said walking over to the window. "They might be at the police station being questioned like Rock' suggested, give me a hand with this window." He said to Tum, who helped him out then stood back while he climbed inside.   
  
"Good there's no alarm, Tum come on." He called out the window but the boy was gone. "Tum tum?" He was tapped on the shoulder and his mental screamed it's head off as he turned around to see his little brother standing right behind him.   
"Don't do that!" He shouted in a whispered yell. "How did you get in any way I didn't see you come through the window." Tum shrugged then walked over to the door. "It was unlocked I was gonna tell you but-...."   
  
"Ssshh, I hear something." Colt said and walked over to the stairs as a door began to open, he motioned for Tum to do the same and he was already on his way. Colt held a finger up to his lips to tell him to be quiet. They looked up at the stairs railing the best they could from that view and they saw a dog walk out of a room growling.   
"Shit." Colt swore lowly. 'Who knew she had a dog?' He thought. Tum tum who always had a way to an animals heart stepped out from his hiding place letting the dog see him; it growled low in its's throat and came down the stairs at him and just as it looked like it were about to attack him he whipped out a candy bar from his pocket and showed it to him.  
  
The dog sniffed what was in his hand. "Come on boy, it's for you." He said sweetly and the dog let out sweet whimpers and took the chocolate from his hand.   
"See, the way to any mans heart is through his stomach." He replied petting the dog who licked his hand in repsonse then went back to the snack. "I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it." Colt said coming from his hiding place as well. "That must be her room up there, lets go check it out but we have to be quick because she may come back at any second and we don't wanna get caught."  
  
They krept upstaors and into the room the dog had emerged from. When they got inside they were surprised to see the room laced in stars and planets. "What is she an astrologer?" Tum asked pushing Mercury into Venus. Colt was checking the room over with his eyes and couldn't see anything really wrong with it. "Look around for a diary or any random piece of paper that might help us figure out what's going on."  
  
Tum gave him a thumbs up and walked over to the strange girls bed, then felt around under the pillow case and in between the matresses for anything that felt remotely like a book. Colt checked shelves but found nothing unusual on any of them.   
  
Outside a car is turning the corner sharply and two people are inside, one a woman and the other a teenaged girl. Colt looked inside of her dresser drawer and felt a book inside. "I think I may have found it." He pulled it out but there was a lock on it. He dug into his pocket and took out a paper clip that be brought for just incase and Tum looked out the window widening his eye in fright. "Colt?" He said in a panic heading towards the door, but he was still picking at the lock. "Hang on, I think I have her diary." He said, but Tum wasn't about to get caught in the womans house especially with her creepy daughter running around.  
  
"Come on!" He ran over grabbing him pulling him out the door with him. "They're back we have to hi-..." It was too late the front door opened and the two people walked in, the woman was yelling in a low voice at the girl. The two of them dashed into a closet and left the door cracked a bit so they could hear them talking. "I mean it Maria no more of this, you leave that boy alone." She took her coat off and dropped it on the couch then slipped out of her shoes.  
  
The girl said nothing as she started taking off her coat as well then slipped out of her shoes. "Whatever, listen you go upstairs and you go straight to bed, I don't wanna hear another word out of your mouth." The woman continued as if the girl had responded then she took her hair out and walked into the kitchen. The girl on the other hand was heading up the stairs angrily and nearly stomping her feet into the stairs. Colt and Tum tum held their breath watching her approach the closet but she went by as though she hadn't expected anything to be lerching there at all.  
  
They took the libraty to exit the closet the kitchen went far to the right so they wouldn't be seen leaving unless the woman were in close range and it sounded as though she were near the refrigerater, they got to the front door slid it open as quietly as they could and they ran out. In the window above Maria was staring out at the stars when her eyes caught their movements she looked down and saw them running away. 'What were they up too?' She wondered but didn't bother to move from where she was to find out. 'Let them know, it's time I dropped this disguise anyway.' and with that she lay herself down in her bed and closed her eyes. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9.  
  
When Colt and Tum tum got back into their home it was nearing midnight. "Good everyone's asleep that means we can get upstairs without any-...." He was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat in the darkness, it had come from the direction of the couch and they snapped around to see there mother sitting there with her feet up on the coffee table in slippers and a robe.  
  
"Mom." Colt said brightly following it with a, "What are you doing up at this time?" She crossed her arms and looked at them sternly. "I could ask you the same thing." Jessica retorted. It looked like they were sunk but then Tum tum had a brilliant thought. "Weee-..." He drug on accidently but they heard another voice at the top of the stairs. "Were taking out the trash." They all turned their heads and saw Rocky at the top of the stairs.  
  
"Taking out the trash?" Jessica repeated. "Yeah mom, you always forget to take out the trash when it's trash day because you've got work the next day." Rocky said and she looked as though she were thinking it over and Colt prayed like anything that she would believe him.   
"You're right, I do forget." She said standing and walking over to the two of them. "I'm sorry boys, I've got to learn to trust you more sometimes." She scooped them into a thank you hug smooshing them together and the little book dropped out of Colt's belt buckle. "What was that?" She asked looking down.   
"I hit my hand." Tum said moving it over to the wall to example a noise similar to the one the book had made. "Oh, well I'm going back to bed. You boys do the same, okay?"   
"Yes mom." They said together. "Alright, now good night." She walked upstairs and patted Rocky on the shoulder as she walked by.  
  
He smiled at her then looked down the stairs when he'd seen their parents door reclose. "Rocky we got it." Colt's voice came and they rushed upstairs into their room pushing Rocky along with them.   
"Got what?" He asked climbing back into bed.   
"Evidence that Maria might be a sicky, we swiped her diary." Colt said happily waiting for applause but what he got was an arguement. "You what?" Rocky shouted in a whisper. "We had to Rocky no one would believe you if we didn't."   
"What if she notices it's missing?" He asked and Tum shook his head to the conversation. "Try to do something nice." He mumbling striping himself down and sliding on his p.j's.  
  
"Come on at least look at it with us." Colt said planly with a request to do it in his voice. "......" Rocky was quietly thinking it over and then he nodded. "It might just be the thing we need, although we still have to return it I don't want you guys charged with breaking and entering." He replied.   
"Alright." Cheered Colt slightly; he'd always wanted to know what girls put down in these little things and now he'd actually be looking through one- sweet.  
  
"Hand me a flash light Tum." The boy looked at them both like they were crazy.   
"I just got into bed, I'm not getting up in the cold to get you two a flash light." He pulled the bed spread over his head and went back to sleep. "I got it." Rocky said rejoining his brother on his bed. He pushed the botton in on the flash light and it blinked on. "We'll check out the most recent dates and look for your name." Colt told him as Rocky thumbed through the book. "Here we are." Rocky held the book close to him because the girls writing made chicken scratch look like a mile high letter A.  
  
"There he goes again diary, Rocky. He has the most sexy confidence I've ever seen in my life I wish I were like him- I wish I could love him." He blinked his vision down for a second having to read something like that about himself was kinda strange. "...-He's always putting up with that neighbor of his what's her name Emily? Bleh like a girl like that would ever deserve him. I could give him more than some fat girl ever could." Colt continued at Rocky's pause.  
  
"This right here is all the proof we need, I think." Said Rocky trying not to get upset about what Colt had read about Emily. "Look at this though." Colt pointed to the date on the page. "September 10, 2001. That's weird she's seen me around for a year? Why didn't she do anything then?" Colt shrugged to the question, he didn't know the answer to that one.  
"Look at this," Rocky picked up a picture and looked it over. "This is a picture of me from the awards dinner. When did she ge-...." He stopped himself from saying that as a flash back went through his mind.  
  
'She was the one who took my picture from the off angel not mom.' He thought and looked back down at the book. "This whole thing is full of you and you're little doings what a sick-o." Colt said flipping through it. "Look at this one. January 20, 1999. Rocky is wearing a jacket- you know the one that I like so much with the hood from his sports team. God what a dream he is when he slips it off over his head and puts it on- bleh emily." Colt paused a moment. "Iiii think that says Emily." He said strecthing his 'I'.  
  
"See if there's anything in there about her family and her brother Coren." Rocky suggested and Colt thumbed through the pages to find the name. He skimmed the page with his eyes and dropped the book a second. "Whoa."   
"What?" Rocky asked in a light panic not sure what he could have found.   
"You gotta read that for yourself to believe it." He responded lifting the book back off of the floor.  
  
Rocky took a deep breath and flipped open the book to the page Colt said it was on.  
  
December 20 1996.  
Dear Diary,  
My mother told me I have to leave the house today.  
Says I had no right to hurt that boy for not liking me back-  
Ha! Had no right, that boy tried to take advantage of me!  
She said "Maria, you've got to learn how to control your outburst.  
That's what she calls them now 'outburst.' pah!  
......Someaday I'll show them all! I'll find the guy out there for me  
and when I do he and I will be the most powerful people in the world  
and we'll make everyone wish they'd never laid eyes on us. (Over)  
  
December 21, 1996.  
Dear Diary,  
Toady aunt Marissa came over to get me- the bitch.  
I hated her since forever, she thinks she can control me- never!  
Why can't everyone just leave me alone?! Coren is pretending to cry for me.  
What does she know about pain she can talk! I've been like this for years-   
hell, life now! And she wants to cry....man what I wouldn't give to crush her brain.  
I better cam myself down before that dumb bitch gets up here to take me to her house  
in dumb old L.A. as if I'd fit in with those snotty ritzy ass kids....  
not someone like me anyway, they'll be sorry all of them!  
If they even think they can pick on me.........there she is calling my name  
as if I could answer back. Good bye diary I'll tell you what happens later.  
  
January 3, 1996.  
Dear Diary,  
I saw a boy in school named Samuel- well his name is really Rocky.  
He does ninjas I looked into his mind to see all that. I know I said I wouldn't  
but I had to know about this guy I saw some pretty interesting stuff hee hee.  
I can't wait to talk to him tommorrow, good night diary.  
  
"I don't understand, what does this mean, she can't talk?" Rocky asked really confussed and a little shaken.   
"I don't know but if I were you I'd show dad." Colt said going over to the closet and undressing himself for bed as well. "Maybe, but he'll never let us hear the end of the break in alone I think we should just handle this ourselves." Rocky replied closing the book. "This is a switch if it were my problem we'd go to mom or dad but you wanna handle this by yourself?" Colt walked over to his bed and used the ladder to get on it so he wouldn't disturb Tum tum.   
  
"Yeah, I have too. Maybe I can talk to her rationally about this whole thing." Rocky said sliding the diary under the pillow. "Good night Rock', and good luck." Colt said turning over to face the wall.   
"Good night." He responded. 'Maybe now I can get some answers, why can't she talk.....and if she can how come I can hear her when she does- can everyone else?' He wondered. 'I don't understand any of this,' he thought. 'I don't even believe in this sorta thing, zodiacs sure that's really cool but all this psychic stuff...is that what they call them?' He sighed and let his eyes drift closed. 'I'll find out in the morning.' 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.  
  
The next day. "Boys I'm going to work now, give me a kiss." Jessica said walking into the kitchen over to the table where her sons planted a kiss on her cheek. "Bye mom." Rocky said as she walked out of the kitchen. They waited to hear the door shut before they began to talk again.  
  
"So what are we gonna do about Maria?" Colt asked flipping through the diary still. "Will you put that away- infact give that back to me, I'll do it." Rocky said taking the book from his brothers hands. "So what's the big deal? She's a total weirdo we have a right." Colt replied picking the fat from a slab of bacon then watching as Tum puts the fat on his own plate. "Maybe, but she has rights too." Replied Rocky making a digusted face from what he'd just seen.   
  
"Besides it's bad enough I have to figure out an explaination as to why I have her diary but I also have to find a way to question her without letting her know I read it." Rocky heard the door bell and pushed his seat back getting out of it. "Wait here okay?" He said going into the living room. The door bell rang again before he could get it open. "Hang on, I'm coming." He said and opened the door letting his jaw drop. "Maria......."  
  
"Can we walk to school together?" She asked brightly with a huge smile. "Um...." Rocky managed to get out. 'Maybe if we walk to school together I could talk to her.' He thought and then put on a fake smile saying. "Sure. Just let me tell my brothers, okay?" She nodded placing her arms behind her back rocking on her heals. "Okay, you wait here." He said going into the kitchen trying not to panic as he grabbed his book bag and put his dishes away.  
  
"You're acting weird who was at the door?" Colt asked. "Uuum, Emily. We're going to school together alone today, ha ha. Kind of an special couple kinda thing can you guys walk alone?" They both shrugged an answer, it wouldn't be the first time they had to walk without him. "Thanks I owe you one. Bye." He rushed out the front door and Tum tum looked across the table at Colt, who had the same expression on his face as he did.  
  
"I didn't believe that one for second." Tum said getting up and going into the living room with Colt following. When they looked out the window they saw Rocky and Maria turning out of the drive way walking towards the direction that led to school. "It's that weird girl again." Tum tum said glancing at Colt. "Yeah but why is he walking with her- alone." He replied.  
  
"Should we follow them?" The young boy asked and Colt shrugged not really sure what the best plan of action would be, I mean after reading that diary who knew what this weird girl was capable of, but then again she could just be a little odd and happen to like Rocky a little too much. "I don't know," he said speaking up. "but if someone tries to impale my brother...they're gonna have to go through me."   
  
Tum tum nodded. "Me too." Turning away from the window Colt grabbed the sleeve of Tum's shirt and led him to the kitchen. "Come on, lets follow them."   
  
Outside things were quiet as Rocky and Maria walked along together. "I've always dreamt of this moment you know." She said shyly. 'I know.' Rocky thought but answered as though he had no idea what she were talking about. "What?" She giggles lightly touching his arm and said. "Walking to school together, just the two of us."   
  
"Oh." Rocky breathed out. "Maria, can we talk about something? Seriously too. No jokes, no games, nothing...just talk." He asked, and she looked at him as though he were crazy then she smiled wrapping her arm around his laying her head down on it as well. "Sure Rocky anything for you." She replied, but added. "Lets go someplace private to talk though, okay?"   
  
He swallowed hard and glanced back towards the house wishing for the smallest glimpse of his brothers but they were no where in sight. He ran a mild hand through his hair and sighed turning on a smile. "Sure, where too?" He asked. "Lets go to this secret spot of been going to since I was younger, it's not too far from here." She replied guiding him across the street. "All right." He replied to her.  
  
"Good, but one thing though you gotta cover your eyes. I can't have everybody knowing about my secret now can I?" He really didn't want to, but his eyes found themselves closing. 'Might as well play along so she won't suspect anything.' He thought and tried to relax himself. 'And just think after we talk this whole mess will be past us.' His eyes got tighter as though he himself didn't believe that lie. 'Oh, we'll be all right Rocky, because we'll be together forever and no one's gonna pull us apart...I'll make sure of that.' She thought to herself with a smile.  
  
She was leading them far into the woods to an old abandoned shack that she used to run away too when ever her aunt Marissa was cruel to her- or when she was too upset from the other kids at school were bothering her a lot that day. "Not much further okay?" She said to reassure him. He didn't answer instead he was mentally preparing himself for what he was going to say once they got there.  
  
They passed through thick trees and huge bushes as though they were going through a jungle, everything was so cluttered in together a person could get lost in there easily, and finally they approached a small brown shack that looked as though it had been abandoned for years. "Here we are!" She announced once they got the door open. Rocky opened his eyes and walked inside looking around with his eyes. "What are we doing here? I thought you said that we weren't going fa- Ah!!!" He held the back of his neck falling to the ground and she backed away from him laughing as she dropped a needle to the ground and smooshed it into the soft soil.  
  
"Don't worry little Rocky, the drug wasn't all that strong." She said walking in and picking him up a little off the floor and tossing him onto a bed. "You will be mine." She said without oving her lips and then she looked out the window. "You brothers will be coming pretty soon, but that doesn't scare me, because by the time they get here...it'll be to late."  
  
.....................................  
  
"This sucks...This really sucks!" Colt practically shouted. "We were right behind them where did they go?" Tum tum didn't have the slightest idea he was just following Colt. "What's that?" He asked pointing up ahead and Colt strained his vision to where Tum was pointing. "Looks like the key ring off Rock's book bag, he must have dropped it for us to follow."  
  
They ran ahead and picked it up. "It's Rock's all right, there's the his official green ink dot." Colt stuffed the key ring into his pocket and they looked around for anything else their brother may have dropped but there wasn't much in this area. "Well," Colt sighed feeling his pocket. "at least we know we're on the right path." He looked over his shoulder for Tum then walked a little further up. "Come on."  
  
* * *  
  
"Has any one seen Samuel Douglas today?" Mrs. Hillpepper asked. The class shook their heads to her question and went back to work but a boy known as the class clown decided to share some knowledge with the class.  
  
"I heard he got arrested last night." They all turned their attention to him with interest. "He broke into his girlfriends house and tried to choke her. He's gone mad." The boy finished and everyone laighed at the example he was displaying trying to potray an insane Rocky.  
  
Eleanor was sitting abck watching the whole thing biting the bottom of her lip- which is a bad habbit of hers. 'I wonder if Emily is all right?' She thought and looked at the clock with a smile. 'Almost time to go to lunch. I'll talk to her then.' She looked back to the front of the room when she heard the teacher speaking.  
  
"Alright class, knock it off. Daniel you leave Samuel's personal life to yourself, he would never do such a thing." Just then the bell rang and everyone ran out in a hurry. "Oh dear." The teacher said looking down at the homework assignment she forgot to give them. "I'll take two Mrs. Hillpepper." Eleanor said walking up to the front of the room adjusting the straps on her backpack. "Two?" The woman replied. "Yeah, one for Sam, he might be sick I think." She said as a possible excuse to why such a good kid would cut class.  
  
"I think that's a wonderful idea Eleanor, here you go." The teacher handed her the papers and she slid her book bag around to her front to slide them in. "Thanks ma'am, bye." She walked out of the class room skimming the halls with her eyes for Emily. "Emily?" She called to her when she saw a blonde head that could only be hers- she was wearing the teddy bear hair clips the bought together from the Fashion Bug.  
  
"Oh hi, have you seen Rocky today?" Emily asked her right off. "No, he wasn't in home room this morning and I thought he might just be late but he wasn't in english class either." The other girl replied falling into step with her friend.   
  
"I'm worried, it's not like him to miss a day and none of the teachers know why? Their mom always calls in and tells the faculty that they're sick." Emily frowned hearing that. "And you wanna know another weird thing?" The girl went on. "I brought some blank papers to the special ed. room and Maria wasn't there I thought she might be in the bathroom but then the teacher said something about Maria loving art and that she'd be missing it."  
  
Emily bit her tongue to stop from screaming ans slapped a hand over her best friends mouth. "I don't wanna hear anymore of it. I can't I mean, if Rocky is off with this Maria girl then that's fine with me I don't love him anymore." Emily said putting her head down.  
  
"Are you serious? Why not?" Eleanor asked after pulling Emily's hand away. "Last night he broke into my house and tried to strangle me when he should have been trying to save me." That didn't seem to make any sense to Eleanor and she thought it over to herself. "Maybe he wasn't himself that night, you never know?" She said trying to change Emily's mind but she walked into the cafeteria spinning around to face her friend.   
"No mistake on his part it was on mine for trusting him, and if he wants to be Maria's lapdog then I say go for it but don't come clawing back to me when she hurts you."  
  
With that she stormed into the cafeteria and lined up for lunch. 'I just don't believe he'd leave Emily that way....but where could he be?' The girl thought then walked into the lunch room.  
  
* * *  
  
"Open your eyes Rocky......" Maria was saying to him. His eye lids opened themselves slightly but closed again as though he didn't want to see what he was about to wake up to. "Come on, I didn't give you that much of the drug..." She said tapping the side of his face with light slaps.  
  
Rocky groaned and shifted himself on the bed, when his mind started to register what was going on his eyes snapped open and he pushed himself up on the bed scooting away from her. "Wha- What did you do to me?" He asked feeling a wave of nausea wash over him as he sank back on the bed to where he was lying in the first place. "Oowww." He wined in little painful cries. "What did you do to me?" He asked and she held his face between her hands and laughed.  
  
"You have a stronger mind then I thought," she said ignoring his question. "most poeple get a dose like that and their brain can barely remember their own name." She tilted her head back and began to laugh. "Ma- Maria you can't......." he swallowed the feel of throw up in the back of his throat. "you can't keep me here." He continued trying to sit up again but the drug was keeping him down.  
  
She straddled herself around his hips and grinned down at him wickedly. 'Please don't....' he could only manage to think, because his voice had escaped him at the moment. She leaned down and kissed him on the lips and he dizzly turned his face away from hers, blinking hard trying to keep the drug out of his system. "Nooo." He was saying and she shushed him kissing him again. "Don't fight the drug, just relax and let it sink in." Maria said.  
  
She pressed her mouth against his again and he tried everything in his power to fight back but it was useless. 'Do what you like, Maria. But I'll never love you.' He thought before he blacked out again. 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.   
  
"There.....I see something." Colt finally said pointing a few steps ahead of them at the grass. The two boys ran forward and picked the item up. "It's his watch!" Tum tum said taking it from his brothers hands to look at it himself then he stuffed it in his pocket. "I wonder how much stuff he dropped?" Tum then asked as the thought crossed his mind.  
  
"Heeyyy maybe he wants us to follow these things?" Colt said suddenly looking around making Tum tum panick. "What do you mean? That creepy girl might be out here?" He asked whirling around looking in every direction. "I don't think so, but I wouldn't put it past her to just be hanging out watching us." Colt grabbed his brothers shoulder making him stop spinning in circles like a loon. "We better move quickly it's lunch time now we've been out here forever and if it gets any later we won't be able to see."  
  
"And that's not good for anyone." Tum said nodding to agree and they walked deeper into the woods.  
  
................................  
  
Maria was lying on top of Rocky now possesively kissing him when he mumbled something in between and she backed away from him angrily looking down and asked. "What did you say?" Rocky knew that would work. "I said...E- Emily." There was a break in his voice because of the drug and he started to sit up again, but she pushed him back down. "I told you not to say her name around me." Maria said nearly threateningly.   
  
"That bothers you doesn't it? Me loving someone else when you want me so badly- well I'm right here Maria do your worst but I assure you, you're no Emily." She growled low in her throat like a dog and grabbed his neck but he didn't seem the least bit scared as he continued to grill her. "Emily, Emily, Emily...did you know I gave her a nick name?" He added with a smile.  
  
"Shut up!" She squeezed down harder but he held her hands from tightening and went on. "Emily is the worlds greatest girlfriend. She's sweet and nice and kind everything you'll never be in your life." Tears fell down her face as her hand reached down into her high boots and pulled out a dagger. "Shut up or I'll kill you!" She shouted standing on her knees over him letting his neck go.  
  
"You know what? I don't think you will." He said with a cocky smile. "Because you won't have anything to hold over Emily head and then you wouldn't have me- course that's giving you waay to much credit."  
  
The girl was panting hard grabbing at her hair shrinking away on the bed saying, "No, no, no, no...." over and over again. "What's the matter Maria are you jealous......jealous because even when I'm dead I'll love Emily and you...you will still have nothing." The girl bared her teeth and reared the knife up-  
  
* * *  
  
"Emily," Eleanor was saying as she sat down at their usual table. "What happened that night Rocky broke in?" Emily was sipping her milk and looking blankly out the window but Eleanor grabbed her chin and turned her head to face her. "What? Tell me..."  
  
Emily sighed out a shaky breath and looked at her. "Fine, he strangled me okay? The guy that loves me strangled me. He kept calling my a stupid cow and said that he loved Maria and if I tried to keep him away from her he'd kill me......" She paused looking at the shock on her best friends face. "Still think I'm crazy for letting him go?" She then asked breaking the silence.   
  
"It doesn't sound like him maybe he was sleep walking." She threw out as an explaination. "Right, sleep walking more like sleep wishing he were with that stupid twit. Elle you don't understand you weren't there, you couldn't- couldn't feel the grip if his hands around my neck hard and pressing his nails into my skin, look he scratched my ne-."  
  
"Wait a minute," Eleanor said stopping her next sentence. "nails digging into your skin? Rocky doesn't have finger nails he bites them as a bad habit remember?"   
"So." Emily said turning away from her again but she pulled her attention back. "So? Do you really believe that someone without finger nails could scratch your neck?"  
  
".....I guess not." She replied and her friend nodded. "Exactly."   
"Well yeah Elle if he didn't do it than who did?"   
"Maria....I'm not sure how but she must have done it, we can go to her house after school okay she lives with her mom no one else I think she should be able to tell us something."  
  
"We're waisting our tiiime." Emily said and got up to return her tray. 'Don't worry Em' you won't loose your boyfriend.' Eleanor thought with a smile that faded into a concerned look.  
  
...............  
  
Back at the shack in the woods the knife is a breath away from Rocky's neck as she looks down at him. Their eyes are on each others and Rocky notices something off in them. "Say something else," she started. "I dare you." Rocky looked down at the dagger and blinked his vision back up to hers. "....Who are you?" He asked quietly and she grinned. "You mean you don't know? You took my diary, thought everything you wanted to know would be in there."  
  
"But I don't understand, you're talking to me right now aren't you?" Rocky said, blinking hard trying to keep himself awake. "I guess I could tell you, since you don't have very long to live anyway." The strange girl said getting off of him and walking across the room. She began to pace back and forth holding the knife like it were made of pure gold and she didn't want anyone to snatch it from her.  
  
"If I were to talk to you normally, my lips would move but no sound would come out of them." She stopped and looked at his face knowing it would be shocked yet confused. "Mmh hmm. I was born a mute Rocky, do you know what that means? Huh?" Rocky nodded his head then opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. "Don't ask. The reason why you can hear me talking now is because of my gift." She said and started pacing again.  
  
"But if you can talk as a mute anyway doesn't that make you like everyone else?" Rocky asked. "Of course not!" She shouted at him rushing up to the bed shouting down into his face. "If I were normal could I do this-...." She broke her sentence off and closed her eyes. Rocky watched in horror as a snake slid into the room up the bed and around his leg; normally he wasn't afraid of snakes but it wasn't the snake it was the fact that it was poisonis. His mouth dropped and he sat very still watching it and then Maria opened her eyes and watched laughing.   
  
"You see?" She bent over brushing the snake into nothing more than a crease in the sheet he had at his ankles and he looked amazed but scared at the same time. 'You can hear me speak through my mind...everyone can.' She said to him in thought and he had heard her- which explained how she never moved her lips sometimes when she spoke. "But what about-..." Rocky began but she cut him off again. "My aunt Marrissa? Stupid bitch....she's always in my business telling my new boyfriends this and telling my new boyfriends that I hate her." She flopped herself down on the bed and grinned at Rocky slyly.  
  
"You wanna know how I do it don't you Rocky? You want some of my power." She said, but Rocky shook his head backing away from her nearness. "Maria this all doesn't make any sense. What happened to you? You can trust me, just tell me....." She looked into his eyes and they seemed honest enough so she made herself comfortable at the top of the bed with him and sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you everything."  
  
He seemed releaved that she could still be this calm but he didn't let his guard down for a second, because if he did she might pull something sneaky again. "When I was young I was born without a voice, mine was damaged at birth I tried everything I could to talk but nothing worked." She tossed her hair out of her eyes as though she were tossing the thought along with it. "I went through life hated and laughed at by other kids- at home- at school all of them.....My own mother hated me because I was ruining her good reputation being a retard."  
  
"You're not retarded." Rocky said cutting in but she held a hand up to him for silence and she went on. "That woman locked me in my own room, told me I'd only eat and sleep in here and when company is over not to show my face, but Coren, my beautiful talkative sister," she huffed a disgusted laugh. "she might be beautiful but she's dumb, I've seen her around town with her dumb ways and her hunched over walking she looks like an idiot."   
'Poor girl, she seems so full of hate.' He thought and she turned and smiled at him saying. "You have no idea." Patting him on the leg she went on with her story. "So basically she snapped at me whenever I did something wrong called me ugly and weird head, and Coren always stuck up for me- as if she had any empathy......I eventually got tired of doing being put down so I tried to learn how to speak but nothing was working, then one night I prayed to God to find a way to help me have my life the life I deserve and this is what I woke up with."  
  
"You mean, speaking? I don't-..." He trailed off shaking his head and she smiled patting his hand. "I woke up with this gift, I could project my thoughts to other peoples brains....at first I could only do it to one person but then as I focused my power a little better I could project it to a whole group." She paused waiting to see if he'd say anything but he didn't.   
"Well you can only imagine how my mom reacted.....she screamed and brought me to the hospital to see if it were humanly possible for me to talk like this because when I project to people I move my lips so to them there's no difference, you see?"  
  
"But if you can do that then how are you different?" He asked. "It's not the same, you don't understand.....when the doctor said I shouldn't be talking my mom freaked out, she thought I was playing a trick on her....a sick one, but uh she learned to except me for who I am until....." she trailed off. "What?" He asked not meaning to rush her.  
"Until I killed my boyfriend- well, I wanted him to be my boyfriend haha. I kinda asked him he said no special ed. freak and walked away. My mom put me in the special ed. classes at school and everyone knew- but you see I was smart I wasn't in need of special care and those people aren't special they're nice actually, but I didn't want to be one of them and I found David the boy who rejected me and I ran him into an on coming car and he was killed."  
  
"Maria you-......" She held up a hand to silence him. "Sshhh. Don't tell me about that sorta thing I already heard it before....well, my mom was sick of me and my ways so she called my aunt to come and get me and here I am, life sucked here no big difference until I saw you.....you were so beautiful, they way you walked, talked, ate, slept...." she made a quiet laugh and added. "Showered."  
  
Rocky scrunched his eyes in anger to that but she laughed and pulled his head down on her shoulder to rest even though he tried to resist he heard her voice say, 'Just relax.' but deeper in her mental. 'Okay Maria.' He said mentally to and she smiled. "Thank you."  
  
"Well as you can tell my abilities got stronger and so did my crush on you....I saw you stick up for countless people even if they wronged you....and I wanted that I wanted to be with that because I myself couldn't do it. I saw how you were when that dumb cow Emily lost her memory you didn't crack a tear and how you were when your stupid brother was getting on your nerves..." 'Does she mean Colt?' He wondered and she nodded. "Mmh hmm, I do....any how I thought that there was a chance for the two of us, you'd understand me and my pain you'd love me but you were always around her." This time she said it with furiosity.   
  
Outside Colt and Tum tum have reached the cabing and they heard a girls voice. "That sounds like her, come on we'll sneak in." Colt said and Tum tum nodded following him around to the side.   
  
"I wanted to be with you Rocky but Emily stood in my way....but now there isn't going to be any Emily to stand in my way." "What are you gonna do to her?" He asked. "Nothing. It's what I'm gonna make you do to her." She handed him her dagger and pulled him up off the bed to sitting postition. "You're going to go to school..." She paused then smiled continuing. "and kill her."  
  
Rocky shook his head and her eyes narrowed in anger. "If you don't then I'll kill you myself!" She grabbed the dagger from his hand and lunged at him. He moved out of the way getting his leg slices by the point of the blade. "Ow!" He said pulling it up to himself hugging it for a second because the girl kept swinging and he ahd to get out of the way. "You can't run from me in here or the woods!" She shouted as he got off the bed.  
  
She ran after him with the dagger held high into the air pointing downward waiting to stab him. He grabbed the door knob but it wouldn't pull open. The dagger came down at him but he grabbed her wrist to prevent it from happening they struggled against each others wieght and he won, pushing her against the wall. She curled into a ball and started pounding the side of her head with her fist.  
  
"I'm a good girl....." she said lowly. "I'm a good girl...." she continued to chant. "I'm a good girl, I'm a good girl, I'm a good giiiirl!!!" Rocky cocked his head and looked at her, but when he walked over to her she threw the dagger at him.  
  
He moved out of the way instinctivly and it stuck sharply into the door. "Maria I-..."   
"Don't you touch me- stay away!" She shouted and he backed up a foot then walked up to her again. "You're worse then everyone else!" She screamed when he was closer. "I thought you'd love me I need it too!"  
  
"Maria I don't fall in love with people because they're in need. I love them because I love them it has nothing to do with who's a bigger tragety." He replied but she shook her head. "No." She breathed out hard. "No, no, no." And with that tears streamed down her face and Rocky knelt down and took her into his arms hugging her. "It wasn't supposed to be this way." She cried out. "Ssshhh, don't cry." He said caressing her hair, but she shook her head. "Nooobody looooves me."  
  
"That's not true Maria, don't say that." Rocky said but she continued chanting it. "Maria stop it, it's not true."   
"Nooobody loooves me." Her tears fell down harder and her voice was picking up. "Nobody loves me, nobody loves me, nobody loves meeeeee!!!"  
  
The door to the shack opened and Rocky backed against the door bumping into his brothers. "What's going on?" Tum tum asked. Maria was on the floor pounding her fist to her head and screaming in tears. "Mamma? Where are you?" She said. "What's she talking about?" Colt whispered.   
  
"Maria?" Rocky said ignoring the both of them. "How come you don't love me? You love Coren, why not me?" She was saying, staring in the boys direction. "She was always the favorite even if I wasn't special." Rocky walked over to her and put his arms around her, she latched on to him as though she would die if he let go. "A,B,C,D..." She said rocking in his embrace. "Rocky is she okay?" Colt asked joining him on the floor. "I don't know." He replied.  
  
"Two plus two is-...." she sighed out cutting herself off. "Don't go no, mommy I need you......." Her breathing was hard again and she got up from his grip pushing him aside and ran from the shack. They attempted to follow her but when they got outside she was already gone as though she had vanished. "Where did she...go?" Colt asked looking around. "I don't know, but I think she's better off there...come on, lets go home." Rocky said and they started back through the woods with Colt leading the way.  
  
Things were quiet as they picked their ways through the dense trees, but something ran a chill up there backs as they went because they could feel cold eyes watching there backs- was it Maria? Or maybe an animal? Whatever it was it wasn't coming out.  
  
The End? 


End file.
